


Three Things

by jellyjamfish



Category: One Piece
Genre: F/M, Friendship, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-08
Updated: 2015-05-16
Packaged: 2018-03-16 22:02:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 15,632
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3504341
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jellyjamfish/pseuds/jellyjamfish
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>His thoughts were becoming confusing. What was this? Why couldn't he understand? He wanted to scream at her, to tell her that she was the most annoying, underhanded, oblivious woman he had ever known. He wanted to tell her that if he had to choose three things about her that he couldn't stand they would be....</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

_5:00 p.m. Directly on course for the next island. The sky was clear without a storm cloud in sight and the wind was at a steady pace of 6 - 8 knots. Perfect weather for sailing._

In truth, it really was a beautiful day. The sky was a particularly bright shade of blue and the warm sea breeze blew softly at the back of her neck. Regardless of all this, Nami knew the day would be wasted on her. She rested her chin on the railing and looked down at her crew. Usopp was trying to use Luffy’s arm as a jump rope but kept tripping, the mischievous grin on their captain’s face suggested that it was not by accident. Robin was playing some board game that looked like a more complicated version of checkers with Chopper, while Sanji doted on her. She glanced at her log pose, even though she knew that they were safely on course, and let out a sigh. Moments like these where everyone was safe and happy were a rarity nowadays.

Despite the calm atmosphere Nami felt her chest tighten. She wondered if it was a beautiful day where she was. The thought crossed her mind that she should be there with her and Nami felt a stab of guilt. She gazed at the horizon and thought that, on days like this, she would’ve preferred rain.

“Nami!”

Luffy had pulled him arm back when Usopp was in mid jump and was now looking up at her. His arm snapped back to normal and he called her again with both hands around his mouth.

“When are we gonna drop anchor!”

She rolled her eyes, the closest island was already in view and if he’d just make an effort to find it…Whatever, some things you just couldn’t expect of people.

“We’ll be there in about a half hour if the weather stays like this.”

Nami heard him make multiple exclamations of elation, none of which she could actually understand, then she turned around and headed for the kitchen. She didn’t have much hope that food would improve her mood but she could at least try. She didn’t feel like ordering Sanji around like she usually did, so instead she just rummaged through the refrigerator and settled on some cold pizza, not bothering to heat it up.

She flopped onto a chair and absently started gnawing on a piece. It was delicious. She ended up eating 3 slices before getting up and heading for her room. She found that she couldn’t bring herself to join the others, it was just a funk and it would pass, there was no reason to bother the rest of them with it. When she reached her cabin she hesitated upon touching the doorknob. For a while she stood there, facing her door. The tightening in her chest got worse the longer she stayed. Why was she so upset? She shouldn’t be so upset! She turned her back on the room and made for the deck.

She found an unoccupied area on deck relatively easy, not a surprise considering how big the Sunny was. Nami had loved the Going Merry but right now she thanked god for the space. She rubbed her hands over her face, struggling to focus on the fresh air instead of the growing sickness in her stomach.

“Nami?”

She jerked, shocked at the sudden voice. “Robin! You scared me… “

The quiet woman furrowed her brow in genuine concern. “Are you alright?” She asked, giving Nami a quick once-over.

She waved her off, though she did appreciate her consideration. “I’m fine, just a little sea sick. I’ll be better when we reach the shore.” Looking over the ship, she pointed and added, “Which’ll be any minute now.”

Robin smiled and nodded. Nami watched as she went back to chopper to finish their game and couldn’t help but feel relieved as she watched her go. In the morning it would be different but for now she just needed to be alone.

It didn’t take long for the excited noises that always started before docking to begin. There were sounds of people hustling to secure the Sunny, followed by the inevitable crash no doubt of some important piece of equipment. Luffy shouted as he bounced from one side to the other already anticipating an upcoming adventure. Eventually the voices died down and disappeared as they all went off to explore or replenish supplies and familiarize themselves with the island. When it was completely silent, she moved to the front of the ship.

She leaned her back against the tree and brought her knees to her chest. It wasn’t a big deal, she was sure that Nojiko wasn’t moping around the village, but when she thought of not being there for her on her birthday she couldn’t avoid the twisting in her chest. She rested her forehead on her kneecaps and thought of all the birthdays she had missed because of Arlong, how she hadn’t celebrated with her own sister for 10 years. She would never leave the Straw Hats, they were her family too, but just because she had found new family didn’t mean she had forgotten the old one.

With everyone gone, she felt the lump in her throat swell and the tears she had been holding back all day finally drip down her cheeks. They came instantly and heavy, Nami theorized that the decade she had gone without crying had filled her with bigger and sadder tears for when she could let them free. Her silent weeping rapidly evolved into sobs that shook her whole body. She couldn’t help but think of all the things she’d missed, not just birthdays. She thought about festivals and conversations, experiences that had been robbed from her. Her shirt was wet with tears and she felt drained from crying so much but she couldn’t stop, the wailing wouldn’t stop.

The sound of her cries kept her from hearing the soft squeaking of boots approaching.

“ …Uh.”

Her head snapped up. Oh no. Oh no, no, no, no, no. Anyone else but him. She wiped her face against her arm and turned away in an attempt to hide her puffy eyes and red face. Zoro stared at her with a perplexed expression, trying to think of something to say but coming up blank.

 

The day progressed uneventfully and Zoro had ended up finishing his training at around 4:00. This left him with an extra long pre-dinner nap, and he intended to take full advantage of that.

….Where was his room? He spent a good 30 minutes wandering the ship looking for a quiet place to sleep (after giving up on finding his own bed) but the noisiest of the crew were outside. Somehow he wandered into the kitchen where all sound was lost behind the thick wooden doors and deemed it fit for resting.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

When he woke up, Zoro was squished between the pantry and a sack of potatoes. Yawning, he stretched his arms and pulled himself out of the tight space. The clock read 5:45, earlier than he had planned to awaken. Whatever, He’d make up for it tomorrow. After the slight haze from sleep went away, he realized that he was hungry. As he walked over to the fridge his stomach emitted a low growl. Come to think of it, he probably missed lunch while he was busy training. He looked inside and was annoyed to discover that someone had already eaten the leftover pizza. Grunting, he took out a leg of meat, not bothering to heat it up.

Zoro held the meat between his teeth and started to dig through the cupboard for Sanji’s cooking sake.

“Damn…” He cursed. Either they were out or that bastard had found a better place to hide it.

He stepped outside, surprised to see that they had already reached their destination. He held back a grin. This meant that there was good chance the island had a village and, hopefully, the village had a bar. He chewed the meat aggressively. When he was finished he dug through his pockets to see how much money he had to spend. Zoro looked at the small amount of cash despairingly; he had enough for maybe three rounds at the most. Sighing, he got up- it was still better than nothing.

The ship was pretty silent. ‘Everyone must have already left,’ he thought as he made his way to the rope ladder. He stopped halfway there. ‘What was that sound?’ He walked closer and it got louder. He gripped his swords instinctually. ‘Is someone on the ship?’

When he finally reached the front he could tell what it was, somebody was crying, loudly. But who was it? He had thought that everyone was gone. Peering out at the vast expanse of grass he could make out a bundle of orange shaking against the tree. Without thinking, he immediately headed towards her.

What a terrible mistake. As soon as he saw her he realized that he had no idea what to do in this situation. He didn’t know how to comfort a crying woman, especially when he didn’t know what she was crying about in the first place.

“ …Uh.”

Nami quickly hid her face. Zoro averted his eyes. She obviously didn’t want him there. Briefly, he considered making a break for it and acting like he hadn’t seen anything, but when he glanced down at her she was still trembling and he couldn’t bring himself to leave. He did the only thing he could think to do and sat down next to her. He didn’t plan on touching her, he would just sit with her in silence. She might want to be alone, but he felt that she shouldn’t have to be.

He tapped his fingers against his knee uncomfortably, waiting for her wailing to subside. It didn’t. Looking everywhere except at the sobbing girl next to him, he tried to think of things to say.

‘ _…Ah shit._ ’ he thought to himself. Usually he was pretty good at reading a situation, but right now he had no context and no experience and he felt stupid for just sitting there.

His thoughts were interrupted by a pair of hands reaching out and grabbing his shirt collar. His first thought was that she had actually decided to strangle him but when her head pressed softly against his chest, he relaxed. He didn’t embrace her, physical comfort was not his strong point, but he did let himself be used as a tissue until at last her bawling was over.

Finally, Nami pulled herself away and returned to her original position. Self-consciously, she wiped her nose and attempted to clean herself up. She mumbled an apology to the ground, too embarrassed to face him directly.

“‘S fine.” He brushed himself off.

Hesitantly, he offered her his hand, and pulled her up when she took it. She was still a little shaky but the tears had stopped.

“Hey look…I’m heading into town to find a bar and…you know…get drunk. Wanna come?”

She gave him a weird look. Nami couldn’t remember a single time since they had known each other where Zoro had invited her out to drink with him. Actually, she could remember him inviting most of the crew out except for her and maybe Chopper, who passed out from cooking wine.

Despite her distress she couldn’t help the spark of curiosity she felt. She promptly came up with a list of pros and cons. Ultimately she threw them all out the window and reasoned that she really needed a drink regardless of who it was with.

“Sure.”


	2. Chapter 2

“It’s just stupid!”

Zoro stared, wide eyed, as Nami guzzled her 23rd tankard of beer. He figured that when she ran back to her room to get some money she’d only bring enough for a couple drinks, he now realized, as she gulped down the copious amounts of alcohol, that he had significantly underestimated her.

“...What?” He had been too busy gaping at her to listen to what she was saying.

“I said ’s stupid! I shouldn’t even be upset.”

He nodded along silently, she still hadn’t told him _why_ she was upset but she had told him repeatedly that she _was_ upset. The increasing slur to her words indicated that he probably wouldn’t find out either.

“I mean….it’s not my fault,” She rested her cheek against the cold wood of the table, “and it’s not like….anyone ever tried to visit me on my birthday.”

He raised an eyebrow, could she possibly be saying something coherent?

“.....Hey Zoro.” she said, blowing a piece of hair out of her face, “do you know what day it is?”

He hummed in acknowledgement, “Wednesday.”

“No, you idiot!.” she yelled, throwing an empty mug at him.

Zoro cursed when it hit the side of his head and mumbled something about her being a hag. When he glared back at her, Nami’s expression had changed from annoyed to serious. Her face was still pressed to the table, and in spite of her current state of intoxication, she looked sober. He shut up and waited for her to say something.

“ ….If I tell you….will you not bring it up again?”

He considered it, then slowly nodded. He didn’t make a habit of listening to peoples stories, that was their business not his, but this time he was surprised to find that he wanted to know. Nami bit her lip, unsure if telling him would make a difference or not.

“Today is my sisters birthday.” She moved her arm so it covered her face. “It’s a stupid thing to get so emotional about, considering all the things we’ve been through but….”

She tried to pull her hair over her face so that it was even more hidden. Zoro watched her for a moment then averted his gaze. He didn’t know what he had expected, everyone had baggage and it made sense that she still thought of her family in Cocoyashi Village. He shrugged and leaned back in his chair.

“It’s not that stupid. “

Nami lifted her head up to look at him. When she was thinking about telling him she hadn’t really thought about what his reaction would be. She guessed that, since it was Zoro he might just fall asleep or tell her something akin to ‘I don’t care’. She smiled a little.

“ ….Hey, what did you do on your birthday?”

They briefly made eye contact again before he looked away. What was with her tonight? Venting was understandable but when he invited her along he hadn’t thought she’d actually try and make conversation. He rubbed the back of his head trying to think of the last time he could remember celebrating his birthday.

“Uh….not a lot. I usually just spent it training like everyday.”

Nami looked at her feet, she seemed disappointed. He thought about it harder, was there anything? Oh!

“Oh yeah, Koshiro, he was my teacher, would um, yeah! he would give me a mooncake every year and tell me to make a wish or something. I thought it was kind of weird but he did that with her too so….”

“Her?”

Zoro looked to the side, “No one, just his daughter. I guess it was tradition or something.”

For a moment she looked like she was going to ask him more about it but suddenly decided against doing so. She smiled at the floor, then cupped her face in her hand so that she was looking at him.

“That’s pretty lame compared to what we did.”

He rolled his eyes, of course she had an ulterior motive for asking about him, she wanted to talk about herself.

“On me and Nojiko’s birthday, Bellemere would pick the best looking mikans from our grove and use the rinds to bake a citrus cake, then she would take us to a shop in town and we could buy one thing we wanted.” Her eyes lit up excitedly. “And if she had enough money, we would go out to dinner together, just the three of us.”

She stared into the liquid content of her cup feeling bittersweet. Talking about Bellemere and her sister made her a little sad, but she felt better. Maybe it was the inhuman amount of beer she had consumed but Nami had cheered up considerably.

“ Orange cake sounds kind of….”

She wrinkled her nose at the look of distaste on his face,

“What?”

“Nothing, it just sounds kind of gross.”

She gave him a look that was somewhere between anger and dismay, “ ….Are you stupid?”

“Hey, shut up!” He crossed his arms defensively, “All I’m saying is that fruit is fruit and cake is cake, mixing them seems weird.”

“You’re weird.”

“What are you, five?”

she huffed and joined him in crossing her arms, then muttered, “I’ll make you a citrus cake for your birthday just to spite you.”

They stayed like that for a few minutes, both refusing to look at the other. Finally, Nami broke the silence.

“Hey.”

“Yeah?” He answered a little irritably.

“ ….We should do this again.”

Zoro snorted.

“Hah, you had me fooled for a while, but you really are wasted aren’t you?”

She flicked his arm with her fingers, “I’m serious you ass, this was fun!” She grinned to emphasize her point.

He rubbed his arm as if the small strike had actually hurt him and took a swig of his beer (which had been neglected for longer than he would’ve liked). He had had fun, the only reason he never drank with her before was mainly because he feared doing something to increase his debt but, amazingly, she hadn’t brought that up once. His thoughts were interrupted by fingers prodding his shoulder. She removed her hand and leaned back into her chair. Looking a little abashed, and mumbled something under her breath.

“What?”

She gave him an annoyed look, as if it was his fault for not being able to hear her. She puffed out her cheeks and twiddled her fingers. “Thank you.”

Immediately he felt his ears go red. “ No need to thank me, you bought all the drinks anyway. All I did was get us here.” That was a lie, she’d had to pull him by his haramaki so he wouldn’t wander off in the opposite direction

“That’s not what I….just, thanks.”

He shrugged, he’d been doing that a lot tonight. “We should head back.”

Nami looked out of a window at the darkened sky, he was right. They had been there long past sunset and the others (Sanji) were probably getting worried about them (her). Sighing, she pulled out some cash from her bag and placed it on the table.

“Alright, let’s go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi jellyjamfish here! this chapter is a little short/slow so bear with me. pls review if you can its very very much appreciated :) otherwise i hope you enjoyed this chapter and I'll try to update ch. 3 asap as possible.


	3. Chapter 3

“Hey Zoro…”

 He blinked his eyes, trying to clear his blurry vision. This was not his bed. In fact, it didn’t take him long to realize that he wasn’t in a bed at all. He was lying flat on his back on the floor. When his eyes had adjusted, he could make out a yellow and black figure as it sauntered menacingly towards him. Was that…?

 “ ...Mind telling me _why_ exactly you’re in my room?”

 Zoro had but a split second to react before Sanji’s leg came crashing down inches away from his face. The wooden floor beneath him broke and splintered off in every direction. A few months ago Sanji had found an unoccupied corner of the ship and claimed it as his own. Of all the places he could accidentally fall asleep he was certain that this was the worst. Quickly, he reached for his swords only to discover that they were missing from his side. What could’ve happened last night to cause him to have such a serious lapse in judgement? Between dodging the parade of kicks flying at him, he tried to recall the events that took place the night before.

 “Shit!”

 The smooth leather of Sanji’s shoe painfully grazed his cheek. He had briefly considered fleeing and regrouping as soon as he found his blades, but it seemed as if that was out of the question now. That dickwad of a chef had struck him and if he backed down now, Zoro would never be able to call himself a man again. He stopped avoiding the kicks and planted his feet firmly on the ground. Centering himself, he lifted his arms into the air and clenched his fists. It was time to end this.

 “No sword style-”

 Before He could even start his attack, Zoro was propelled from the doorway to the ground. He whipped his head behind him, prepared to defend against whoever had sent him flying, and came face to face with their shipwright.

 Breathing heavily, Frankie threw himself at the two quarreling crewmembers and grabbed them by their shirts.

 “What do…you think…you bastards are doing to my ship?” he panted, his face getting redder with every passing second.

 Without bothering to wait for an answer, he tossed them out of the demolished cabin and out onto the deck. The door slammed shut and a cacophony of drilling and hammering commenced behind it.

 “Where’d you put my swords, you underhanded prick!?”

 Sanji dusted himself off. “I didn’t do anything to your swords, maybe you should take better care of your stuff.”

 Zoro glared at him, tempted to start up the fight again. But he needed to find his katanas, so he just shrugged and mumbled that it ‘wasn’t worth his time’, leaving Sanji as he yelled a plethora of insults after him.

 He walked around the ship, keeping his eyes peeled for his missing weapons. When an hour of searching yielded nothing, he figured the best plan would be to sit down and try to remember where he could have left them. He crossed his legs and arms, closed his eyes, and tried to concentrate.

  _‘Last night…last night I got pretty drunk.’_ He smiled fondly at the memory. ‘ _And…Nami was there? Yeah, she was wasn’t she.’_ He vaguely remembered offering to let her join him at the bar…

  _‘Oh my god.’_

 He launched himself off of the Sunny and onto the sand below. How could he have been so stupid?

 

* * *

 

Nami woke up, spread out messily on her bed, with a slight headache and the urge to stay under the covers until her body slowly decomposed back into the earth. She could tell even before she looked in the mirror that her eyes were sunken and her hair was a mess. 

 She yawned and rubbed her hands over her face. 

  _'I can’t believe I thought it would be a good idea to go drinking with Zoro,’_ she thought as she stripped off the previous night’s outfit (she hadn’t bothered changing before bed). 

 She hadn’t gotten drunk in a long time and, honestly, it surprised her that she had gotten that wasted. Nami considered herself a heavyweight, and it was a slight blow to the ego that she even had a hangover.

 She slipped on a plain white tank and a pair of jeans before leaving her room for breakfast. Robin had been there when she finally made it home and she _prayed_ that she wouldn’t bring it up. Coming back intoxicated was bad enough but having a fellow crewmate tuck you into bed like a small child was unbearable.

 On her way to the kitchen she heard several loud crashes coming from the secret room that Sanji had taken over and a few exaggerated grunts which she immediately recognized as Zoro’s. She sighed. At least he was up and running. Then again Zoro hadn’t had nearly as much as her. 

  _‘Wait.’_ She stopped. _‘If Sanji’s not in the kitchen...’_

 She hurried inside to look at the time. It was 2:00 in the afternoon. She ran her fingers through her hair. God, how could she have slept in so late? Robin should have woken her up, _someone_ should have woken her up!

 She groaned; maybe going out would make her feel better. Nami left the kitchen and took a good look at the sky. It was cloudy today and she could smell rain, but cabin fever was getting to her, besides the town might have some records on their islands geography that she might find useful. With a little more determination she climbed of the ship, intent on making up for lost time. Halfway down the ladder she stopped and went back up. Today she was going to need an umbrella.

 

* * *

 

Nami frowned at the tiny grains of sand as they tucked between her toes, if this island had a clothes shop she would have to buy shoes that weren’t sandals. She glanced at the foliage around her. Yesterday when it had been sunny the trees had look shiny and colorful, but now with dark storm clouds hovering over the land the atmosphere turned gloomy. The ground was cold now too, she felt her toes curl at the cool air around her feet. She should have dressed warmer.

 She shivered as a drop of rain fell from the sky. With a _whump,_ she opened her umbrella and hoisted it above her head. She was still cold but at least she wouldn’t get wet. She continued to stroll through the trees until she finally made it to civilization. Immediately she ran into the nearest store to warm herself. 

 “Can I help you miss?”

 A little old lady behind a counter asked her with a smile. Nami assumed she was the owner and walked over to her. She returned the smile and placed her umbrella against the wall. Looking around, she noticed that all of the items lining the shelves were somewhat unfamiliar.

 “Yeah, what is this place?” She leaned against the counter inquisitively.

 “This is a spell shop.” The lady gestured to the strange merchandise filling the store. “And this is a magic town.”

 Nami snorted. She didn’t mean to be rude, but calling an entire village magic seemed a bit hokey. She didn’t doubt that magic was real but this woman was basically saying that their whole town was inhabited by witches.

 “Eheh, well do you have any spells that can keep me warm? It’s freezing out there.”

 The old woman chuckled and started digging through a small box, “I’m afraid not, but maybe this will help.” She pulled out a large blue coat and handed it to her. “Amateurs can’t work our incantations just like that! This place isn’t for tourists you know.”

 Despite being a little annoyed at the woman’s words, she gratefully accepted the coat and put it on right away. When she asked her how much she owed, the old lady smiled pleasantly and told her it was a gift from the town to her. Nami didn’t argue, if she wanted to give her something for free that was her choice- plus it was a pretty nice coat. She waved goodbye and left the shop after getting directions to the nearest library where, if she was fortunate, she would get some good information on the island and its coordinates.

 Once she was on her way, she realized that the shopkeeper hadn’t been lying when she said this town wasn’t for tourists. The complicated paths and randomly placed shops made it obvious that it was built for people who had lived there most of their lives. She squinted at the unfamiliar surroundings. How had she managed to find the bar last night? She could hardly recognize anything. Eventually she decided to take a break, the library was farther away than she thought and her legs were getting sore. 

 Nami settled down on a large rock. She gasped when she sat down, forgetting that it would be wet from the rain. She was too tired to move though, so she stayed on the wet boulder and slipped her shoes off. She rubbed her blistered feet; she really needed to take better care of them. There were countless scars and calluses from fighting in heels. She probably wouldn’t though, she looked too good in those shoes to stop wearing them. It was a price she was willing to pay.

 Since she was resting for the moment, she took the opportunity to tie her hair back into a messy bun. Now that her hair was so long it was a nuisance to dry. Her hands dropped to her side and she wiggled her toes trying to give them as much freedom as possible before they were inevitably bound back inside her sandals. She was in mid wiggle when the sound of rustling leaves caught her attention. She put her feet down and listened intently to the noises coming from the forest around her. She held her umbrella in one hand, gripping the clima-tact with the other. As expected, the rustling grew louder and louder until she was sure that it was only a few feet away. Her chest pounded, if worst came to worst she would have to (regretfully) abandon her shoes and make a run for it. A boot stepped out of the tree and she stood up, weapon in hand.

 “Nami?”

 Her jaw dropped to the ground.

 “What are you doing here?” Zoro scratched the back of his head. “Where is ‘here’ anyway?”

 “Zoro!” she shouted incredulously, though she shouldn’t have been so shocked. considering this was a man who got lost on his way to the bathroom.

 “Yeah? Keep it down woman, I’m right here.”

 Her automatic response was to step on his foot. 

 “Ow! Damnit!” he backed away from her, glaring.

 She sighed and pick up the umbrella she had tossed aside when she was preparing to fight a possible attacker. Great, now her hair was wet, along with the rest of her clothes. The rain was really pouring now. She gave Zoro a once over and saw that he was practically soaked, that made her feel a little better. She put her free hand in her hip and scowled at him.

 “I’m looking for the town library, why are you _here_?”

 He scratched his nose, recounting the events that led him to the middle of the forest. He furrowed his brow.

 “...I was looking for the bar we went to.” He looked up reflectively. “...But some local gave me really back directions, so he must’ve gotten me lost.”

 Nami narrowed her eyes, certain that the directions were more than sufficient for anyone who knew their right from their left. “Isn’t it a little early for you to go drinking?” she asked, rolling her eyes.

 He resumed glaring at her. “That’s not why I’m going there.”

 “Huh? What other reason do you have to go to a bar?”

 “ …”

 Zoro looked down at his feet, slightly embarrassed. Without looking up he answered, “I…uh…left my swords there last night.”

 Her eyes widened, she felt a little bad for talking to him so rudely. He kept his eyes glued to the ground, and if she squinted she could barely see a tinge of red lighting his cheeks. She sighed for what seemed like the 40th time that day and abruptly took him by the wrist. 

 “Hey! What the hell are you doing?!” he blurted out as she pulled him along with her.

 “Shut up. You’re never gonna find your stupid swords by yourself, and if you try who knows when any of us will see you again? I refuse to be blamed for you idiocy.”

 He stayed silent, content to stare angrily at her back. She shook her head while he glared daggers at her. Moron. She ignored him, focusing instead on retracing her way back to the tavern where they had been the night before. Damnit! Why was this island so complicated? She snaked them through the twisty pathways, looking for any sort of sign or landmark that could possibly lead them to their destination. Finally, breathless, she found a small establishment.

 “Wait…”

 She ran to the door and threw the door open. It was impossible. She was a navigator, there was no way that she could have wandered back to the same shop she had been in only hours before, with the same smiling old lady standing behind the counter.

 “Welcome back miss, did you find the library?”

 “What the hell, Nami, why’d you-”

 She grabbed her hair, holding back a scream. What the fuck was wrong with this place? 

 “Why!?” was all she could get out. 

 The old woman stopped smiling and looked taken aback, “Oh no, did I not tell you?”

 Nami was close to hyperventilating, slamming her hands on the counter. She stared at the woman and said, “Tell…me…what?”

 “Oh dear, I’m terribly sorry,” She said, shaking her head. “This islands pathways change every couple of hours. We all know how to manage, but it can be very unpleasant for visitors.”

 She suddenly had the urge to grab the sweet old woman’s neck and wring it. The woman, oblivious to her anger, started rummaging through a draw. She pulled out a big sheet of parchment and presented it to her.

“This is an enchanted map of our town, whenever the island changes it changes as well.”

She handed it to Nami and went back behind the counter.

“That will be 5,000 beli.”

“Like hell it will!”

 

* * *

  

After being threatened within an inch of her life, the old lady agreed to give them the map free of charge. She explained that the directions she had given Nami for the library had been the right ones and had she not stopped to rest her feet she would have made it there without a problem. 

 Nami pinched the bridge of her nose. This was her worst nightmare, a place that she couldn’t possibly navigate or even map. Since she had given up on the library, they were still looking for the bar. She checked behind her again, to make sure Zoro hadn’t wandered off on his own. The weird ability this island had to change its geography randomly meant that he was in more danger than ever. In order to combat this, she had tied a rope around his waist and attached it to her own. Still, she shuddered at his uncanny ability to get lost. You could never be too safe.

 By following the map, they arrived at the tavern in relatively good time. Before entering the establishment, she loosened the rope so that he could run wild. She really hoped his blades were in there, Nami didn’t even want to think about what would happen if they weren’t.

 Immediately, Zoro burst through the bar and started searching for his lost swords. It didn’t take him long to find them since a group of drunk kids were playing with them at one of the tables. Wordlessly, he incapacitated them and returned his blades back to his side. He exhaled in relief; he didn’t feel right without them.

 He gave Nami a genuinely thankful smile and headed outside. When he reached the door he stopped. Nami hadn’t moved, she was still inside the bar standing with her arms crossed. She turned around to face him.

 “I take you all the way up here and you’re not even going to buy me a drink?”

 Zoro stared at her blankly, not sure what exactly was happening.

 “What?” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I just want to go back to the ship.”

 “...You really are the worst kind of man”

 He stiffened. Grinding his teeth, he walked over to a table and flopped down onto a chair, waiting for her to join him. She grinned and sat delicately at the seat across from him.

 “Hey! We’ll have two pints.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello and thanks for reading! i know there arent many chapters yet but reviews are always appreciated if you have the time. ill be updating regularly and hopefully will have chapter 4 done next sunday :)


	4. Chapter 4

It was still raining when they left the bar. Nami hurried to open her umbrella as soon as she noticed the rampant precipitation, it was coming down much harder than it had been that afternoon. She was so focused on staying dry that she didn’t even noticed her currently soaked companion as he stood irritably in the downpour. When she turned around, Zoro was practically dripping. Feeling guilty for letting him get so wet, Nami adjusted the map so that it was in one hand and awkwardly held the umbrella over both of their heads. She took the rope out of her coat pocket and started to tie it around his waist before he slapped it away.

“Are you kidding me?!” he shouted. “I’m not a dog, I don’t need to be led around like one!.”

She rolled her eyes.

“Dogs have a way better sense of direction than you.”

Regardless, she ended up putting the rope away, it wasn’t worth arguing over. When it was safely tucked back in her pocket, and she had repositioned her hold on both the umbrella and the map, they started walking. Nami squinted at the worn parchment in her hands. The sketched graph was crude but undeniably accurate. It irritated her that a town that claimed to be magic could chart something that, as far as she was concerned, was unchartable. Irritation soon turned to depression. She hadn’t trained for two years to become the best goddamn navigator on this side of the Grandline just to encounter a place that could be navigated. She found herself cursing the ground they were walking on, she was still missing something. Some key piece of knowledge that would help her keep her crew safe on the most dangerous sea in the world.

Zoro braved a glance in her direction. She was obviously deep in thought, either on finding their way back or something else entirely. However, at the moment that wasn’t his main concern. His main concern was that the difference in height between Nami and him made it so that the umbrella was touching his head and the metals rods keeping it open kept tangling painfully in his hair. Cautiously he wrapped his fingers around the handle and tried to pull it out of her hand. The second she felt his fingers graze hers she snapped out of her thoughts and roughly tugged the handle back towards her.

“What are you doing?!” she glared at him.

“Let me carry the umbrella you’re too damn short!”

Her eyes widened, obviously offended. She pulled the umbrella completely away from him, leaving Zoro helpless to the storm. He yelled a string of profanities as the rain immediately pelted him from above.

“I’m not short! You just want to hold the umbrella so you can wander off by yourself.”

He stared at her, wondering how the fuck she had come to that conclusion. All he wanted was keep the hair on his head and now he was being showered with freezing water while a crazy woman screamed at him. Why was she so mad anyway? it wasn’t like he had asked her to tag along with him.

“FINE! Keep the stupid umbrella!.”

He shoved his hands into his pockets and stomped angrily ahead. He could get back to the Sunny without some girl shrieking at him and trying to tear all of his hair out. He hadn’t gotten very far when he felt the pressure of a hand hook around his arm. She had ran after him and was now poutingly hanging onto his side. Zoro thought about shoving her away but didn’t take long to reconsidered.

He looked over to her as she indignantly clutched his arm. Her hair was a little frizzy from the moisture and stray red strands clung to her face. Without thinking he moved to pull it behind her ears. It was a mistake. The second she sensed his fingertips near her face she slapped his hand away. Hard.

“I have the map idiot, you need to stay by my side.”

He mumbled under his breath that he didn’t need to do anything but stayed with her nonetheless. They walked in silence as Nami concentrated all of her energy on making sure they were going the right way. Occasionally, he stole a few glances in her direction, each time noticing the frustrated expression locked firmly on her face. every time he looked over her irritation seemed to be growing. Finally, it seemed she’d had enough and angrily threw the map on the ground, dropping the umbrella in the process.

“WHAT THE HELL KIND OF ISLAND CHANGES DIRECTION!? IT DOESN’T. MAKE. ANY. LOGICAL SENSE!”

Zoro backed away with his hands up. She was breathing heavily and her face was starting to go red, he wasn’t going anywhere near that. Nami stayed like that for awhile, panting in anger, until she made the decision that she wouldn’t be satisfied unless she stomped on it. She swore as her feet pounded the paper into the ground. Realizing it was time to intervene, Zoro gently grabbed her shoulder and turned her towards him.

“Nami….calm down we need that.”

She stared at him, face flushed and her hand balled into a fist. She smacked his hand away and clicked her tongue in annoyance.

“I can’t stand this…..we have to leave. Right now.”

Despite the tense atmosphere, He couldn’t help but laugh. She glared at him unable to see what exactly was so amusing about this situation.

“What!?” she snapped.

“Nothing! It’s just …. We’ve been torpedoed up into the sky, seen dinosaurs, giants and mermaids, our captain is made of rubber but this is where you draw the line?”

Nami took a deep breath, preparing to yell at him, but stopped. Closing her eyes, she did what she could to calm herself before slowly picking up the map and tucking it away. Now very irritated, she admitted to herself that he was right. She grumbled a couple insults at him that were too quiet to hear then pointed behind her at the fallen parasol.

“Pick that up”

Zoro was too tired to argue. Silently, he did as he was told and hoisted it over the two of them. This was the last time he would get himself into a situation like this. No more drinking with ‘friends’. No more losing his swords and running into horrible shrewd girls on the way. When at last they found their way back to the ship he felt a huge wave of relief wash over him. He could’ve kissed the Sunny on its big lion face. Finally, the nightmare that was today disappeared and was replaced by the promise of tomorrow. As they climb up the ship, He made a vow that he would never let himself be alone with Nami ever again.

* * *

“Zoro! wait!”

Run. He had to run. Why was she chasing him? was she that determined to ruin any possible enjoyment he might experience? He took in his surroundings, looking for an escape or at least a place to hide until she gave up and returned to the ship. Nothing. He was too far from the trees and until he got to the forest there was nothing but sand. Maybe he could temporarily bury himself. No, that was stupid. How could anyone be so fast in heels?

Just as Zoro thought he was safe, two arms were flung around his waist and he was tackled to the ground. His chest hit the land with a thump. Once he was face down in a ground, he didn’t bother pushing her off. He knew he was beaten and would have to accept it like a man. With his face still planted in the sand, Nami repositioned herself so that she was sitting cross-legged on his back with her hands folded across her chest. She blew her bangs grumpily out of her face.

“I don’t know where you think you’re going, there’s no way you’re wandering off alone here.”

Zoro tried to voice his objections, but with his face still in the ground all that came out were muffled shouts. Nami pushed herself off him and pulled him up roughly by the collar. He wiped the sand off his mouth and glared at her.

“What are you talking about?”

She dramatically put her hand to her face in a display of distress and let out an exaggerated sigh.

“Letting you run off on your own under normal circumstances is dangerous, but theres no way I’m letting you go anywhere alone on this island.”

“Okay. One more time. What the fuck are you talking about.”

She flung her arms over her head in frustration. If she wasn’t so nice, Nami would’ve just let him get lost for all eternity in this crazy little village. Unfortunately, She was far too kind-hearted for her own good.

“Why are you so stupid?”, she asked, genuinely wanting an answer.

“ …..You are really starting to piss me off.”

She narrowed her eyes and poked his chest with her finger.

“Since I’m the one in charge of directing the crew, It’s my responsibility to make sure you, in particular, don’t get lost.”

His stomach dropped. She wasn’t about to say what he thought she was, right?

“In short, you’re not going anywhere without me.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this took a little longer than i would have liked and im sorry its so short! during spring break i'll try to update more. remeber to comment and thanks for reading!


	5. Chapter 5

 

 

"Where's Zoro?"

Luffy looked at the people around him, waiting for an answer. Usopp shrugged, Sanji made no attempt to acknowledge him or the rest of the men on the ship, and Chopper just darted around worriedly, knowing how possible it was that if Zoro went somewhere he might never come back. Finally, Robin put down the newspaper she was reading and took pity on him.

She smiled. "I think he went off with Nami, I saw them playing in the sand earlier."

An audible  _crack_  was heard as Sanji crushed the handle of the frying pan he was currently using.

"I'll….I'll kill him."

Robin picked the paper up again to hide her smile, knowing that she probably could have use a better choice of words. Luffy ignored their furious chef and continued looking at her with his eyebrows turned up in disappointment.

"He's never around," he sulked. "And hanging out with Usopp all the time gets boring!"

"Hey, shut up!" Usopp yelled defensively.

"Luffy, that's not nice, you're going to hurt his feelings."

He rolled his eyes at Robin and continued pouting. She giggled a little at his childish reaction. Getting up from her seat, she went over to Sanji, deciding that it she didn't interfere he was likely to burn down the ship, find Zoro, and burn him too. The second she put her hand on his back he was mollified.

Luffy crossed his arms and plopped down onto the sand. "I bet their doing something fun without us."

* * *

Hell.

He was in hell.

It had finally happened; all his misdeeds, his indifference towards mankind, becoming a pirate, Pirate Hunter Roronoa Zoro was finally paying for his sins. Satan was a woman and she was leading him to a one way express line to damnation. He put his hands together in a silent prayer.  _'Oh God, I'm sorry I questioned your divinity. If this is your punishment then just…just kill me.'_

"Zoro, what are you doing, hurry up!"

Nami tugged on his yukata, she had been pulling him by it the entire day. In retrospect, it really wasn't any better than the rope. The sound of her heels clicking against the sidewalk echoed in his ears. For the last three hours she had been dragging him all over town, her idea of 'accompanying him'. So far they had been to six clothing shops, a jewelry store, a pawn shop (oddly enough), and were now on their way to the local library. She hadn't stopped by a bar once.

"Would you let go of me, woman!?" Zoro growled, trying to twist out of her grip.

"Stop whining, you're annoying me."

After several failed attempts he managed to break free. Immediately he started to make a run for it. Zoro had barely made it a few steps before she grabbed him by the wrist and yanked him back. She glared at him for a moment before letting her face fall in resignation.

"Alright, I'll stop dragging you." He let out a sigh of relief. "But! You have to stay with me and you can't just wander off like you always do."

He rolled his eyes. "You're not my goddamn mom, ok."

Nami groaned and suddenly laced her fingers roughly through his, digging her nails into his skin.

"Fine! Be a dick about it!"

She angrily walked, hand in hand, with Zoro trailing behind her. He stared at their connected fingers, not sure how he should react to them. His bewilderment kept him silent while she continued her rapid walk.

After a while, Zoro began to feel weirdly self-conscious. He couldn't stop looking over his shoulder to make sure that none of the villagers were watching. All of a sudden he was acutely aware of how clammy the palm of his hand was getting. Why couldn't she have grabbed his wrist instead, was it really necessary to intertwine their hands like…like…

"We're here!" Nami shouted gleefully as they approached the library.

He wrenched his hand from hers. "Great."

* * *

"Who does that idiot think he is anyway?" Sanji spat at the ground, stomping on his cigarette.

Usopp made an 'I don't know' face. "If those two are together somewhere, I really doubt that it was Zoro's idea."

That didn't make Sanji feel better at all. He ground his teeth and took out a second cigarette. They had been gone way too long. If Nami wanted protection she could have -  _should have_  - gone to him.

Usopp's shoulders sagged in exasperation, he was sure that wherever they had gone Zoro was not having a good time. He went back to tinkering with the weapon he was working on. The Sunny was quiet now that Luffy had convinced Robin to go exploring with him.

"Maybe I should go after them-."

"No."

* * *

The library smelled like dust and paper. Zoro sneezed, Nami gave him a grossed out look when he didn't cover his face to which he shrugged. He watched as she stuck her nose into book after book. He remembered her village and knew a little about her past, when had she learned how to read? He was certain that the Arlong crew never attempted to teach her anything. Had she taught herself? He felt a flicker of admiration as her eyes scanned over each page faster than he knew he would ever be able to.

She picked up a stack of books and dropped them on a table. Sitting down, she began to read more voraciously than before. It occurred to him that, at the moment, he no longer existed. Nami wasn't paying attention to him at all, if he wanted to it would be easy enough to slip away and leave her here. He scrunched his face up in a way that would have been cute on anyone else but on him just looked scary. Seated at the table, surrounded by charts and geography, she looked genuinely happy. Running his fingers through his hair, he sighed and turned his back on her. Maybe there were some books about swordplay, if he was lucky he might find one with pictures.

Zoro grabbed a musty hardcover off the shelf and sat on the floor. He thumbed through the pages absently, not really seeing the words. There weren't any pictures in that one so he tossed it aside and reached for a new one. None of them seemed to have any actual photographs of swords or techniques. Eventually, the words started to blur as his eyelids drooped. Yawning, he decided to give up on reading and take advantage of the soft lighting and quiet atmosphere of the library and fell asleep.

_'Zoro.'_

He blinked sleepily. Someone was calling his name.

"Zoro, wake up."

He rubbed his hands over his face. Nami was standing over him, waving her hand in front of his face. He stretched but didn't get up. "Nami…what do you want?"

She resisted the urge to pinch him. Wiping the irritation of her face, she gave him a toothy grin. He was a crude narcoleptic but he had stayed with her all day, not to mention let her drag him all over town. She bent down and picked up the books he had strewn messily on the floor then pulled him up by the arm.

"Let's get a drink."

He crooked an eyebrow up suspiciously. She rolled her eyes and -much to his protest- linked her arm through his. She thanked the librarian and pushed through the doors.

* * *

"Roooobiiiiiin," Luffy whined. "I don't wanna go to the book place!"

She chuckled but kept walking towards the library despite Luffy's howling. The map she had purchased from the so called 'magic shop' said that it should be close.

"Robin, it's getting late, we might miss dinner!" He clung to her jacket like a toddler that wanted to go home. "Sanji'll save something for you but he'll just call me a bastard and tell me to 'get lost' if I ask for leftovers. He'll be like," He imitated Sanji's tone and pantomimed holding a cigarette, " _What are you an idiot?, I only make exceptions for ladies. Now go away Luffy, I need to make sure all my shirts have stripes on them._ "

She giggled at his impression and continued walking without a hint of hesitation. She felt a little bad for making Luffy miss a meal but thought of it as compensation for humoring him all day. She went to make a right turn but stopped when she heard footsteps.

"Look, Robin, I'm already starting to fall asleep from boredom and we're not even there yet." Drool was pooling at the corners of his mouth to support his claim. "Let's just go-"

"Shh!." She grew an arm on his chest and quickly covered his mouth. "I think I hear something." She turned her ear in the direction of the footsteps, listening for voices.

"..."

_"Let go of me, witch! I think it's safe to assume I'm not gonna run off on my own now."_

Luffy pushed her hand away. "Is that…?" A grin broke across his face. "Zoro!"

"Quiet, Luffy," Robin said, putting a hand to his lips.

_"Stop being so difficult! You should be honored that I'm even touching you...you're sweaty."_

Her mouth turned up into an amused smile.

_"I am not!"_

She turned to Luffy, still smiling. "Let's hide behind the trees."

He frowned at her. Nami was there too and he wanted to see his crewmates since they had been absent all day. Robin didn't wait for an answer, she tugged him under the foliage by his sleeve and they both crouched down, hidden by leaves. Soon enough she saw shadows approaching from the dimly lit pathway.

"Zoro, Zoro are you listening? I said that if you took showers on a regular basis your personality might stink less."

"Would you shut the hell up?!"

Zoro and Nami's bickering figures came into view. Robin held Luffy's mouth shut and watched as they walked past, arm in arm. For the first time in a while, she thought she might blow their cover from laughing too hard. If she didn't have Luffy's voice on lockdown she'd be worried about him doing the same.

"Come on, I think we should head back," She whispered to her incapacitated companion.

He replied by licking the palm of her hand, succeeding in getting her to let go of his face. She furrowed her brow at the spit covered appendage, looking vaguely disgusted.

"I'm not going back, I want to have fun with Zoro," He said firmly, showing no sign of wavering.

"If we leave now we can make it in time for dinner."

"Ok."

* * *

"Did you hear something just now?"

Nami looked over her shoulder. She could have sworn that she heard the sound of shoes on the ground.

"Like what?" Zoro asked.

"Like twigs snapping."

He waved her off, Zoro didn't like to brag but his instincts were kind of unbelievably good. If anything dangerous was around he would be able to sense it. Still, it was pretty dark. The occasional lantern didn't provide a lot of light and there were too many trees to see the lights from the village. Nami was probably freaked out from the dark; she wasn't the most courageous pirate in the New World. That, added to the fact that they had been walking for a pretty long time would justify some apprehension.

"It's probably just nerves."

To his surprise, she snorted. "Why would I be scared? You're here."

Zoro felt his face heat up. It might have been phrased rudely, but that was a compliment. She had said, in a way, that she felt safe with him. He couldn't help but feel a little good about it. The pervert cook would have an aneurysm if he heard that.

"What are you grinning at?"

His expression snapped back to its usual stoicism. "Nothing."

"…Ok? Anyway, we made it."

She pointed to the faintly illuminated tavern ahead. She turned to him and grinned.

"I bet I can outdrink you."

He smirked and twisted his arm away from hers. "What, like a contest?"

She nodded in reply, playfully elbowing him in the shoulder. Maybe he had complained enough for one night. The bar looked warm and inviting and company didn't sound that unappealing. He didn't feel like drinking alone either, which was weird since he had spent the entire day with someone at his side. Without waiting for her, Zoro walked ahead and pushed the door open, keeping it ajar for his companion.

"After you."

Nami raised her eyebrows. She had been fully prepared to have the door slammed in her face. She smirked.

"Thank you  _Sanji_."

She laughed when he gripped the handle hard enough to crush it. Zoro closed the door irritably and shoved his way to a table. When he was seated, he didn't waste any time in ordering. Two years had passed since Whiskey Peak and he was going to drink her under the table. She sat down delicately across from him, just as confident in her alcohol tolerance as he was. The tavern's one waitress flounced over to them and took out a small notepad. They started off by ordering two pints of ale but Nami made it clear to her that they would be drinking a lot more than that. It didn't take long for her to shuffle back to them with a tray of glasses.

"Here you are," she said, putting the mugs in front of them. "And this is from the man over there."

She placed an extra cup in front of Nami and pointed behind her to a guy sitting at the bar. Nami leaned over to wink at him and Zoro felt that if he rolled his eyes any harder he would reopen his scar. He took a huge gulp from the ale, watching the man who had sent the drink as he leered at her. She, however, seemed unaffected and began working her way through her first round.

The waitress soon found herself dizzy from going back and forth from the bar to their table, and Zoro felt himself getting more drunk with every passing moment. Maybe he shouldn't have been so self-assured, after all the entirety of his two year training he had been completely sober. Even in his foggy state of mind he was aware that Nami had the upper hand. The bar cheered when she slammed down her 13th round. Their contest had become the main source of entertainment for the patrons. All around them, men shouted encouragement and insults. But mostly they just shouted lewd comments about her physical appearance.

Zoro tried to ignore the obscenities being thrown at her, especially since she was doing a great job of that herself. She shrugged off every vulgarity unfazed and just continued drinking with a smile on her face. Yet, as the night went on, and he became more and more intoxicated, Zoro's indifference wore thin.

"Take off your shirt!"

"Yeah! Show us your tits."

"Is your pussy as tight as those jeans?"

Slam.

He pushed the man who had been calling out the majority of the harassment onto the floor, holding his chest down with his forearm. The jeers immediately stopped and the tavern was quiet. The sound of a chair wobbling as Nami stood up echoed through the room. The patrons all stared in silence at the two men on the ground. Nami hurried towards the one-sided brawl and stood over him breathing heavily, cheeks pink from the booze. She didn't move for a while, then, balling up both her hands into fists, she put her foot on the side of Zoro's stomach and kicked him off the man beneath him.

Expecting to see another guy looking for a fight, He turned his glare onto Nami. When he realized who he was looking at, his expression faded from fury to shock. That shock only increased when she raised her heel back up from the floor and kicked him square in the face. Gripping her fingers through his hair, she threw the money for their bill on the counter and dragged him out the door. He yelled at her to let him go, circling all the way back to anger. Once they were a safe distance from the bar she let go of his head.

"You crazy bitch! What the hell is wrong with you!?"

Nami scoffed. " _I_  should be asking  _you_  that." She ran a hand over her hair. "What happened to never fighting a meaningless battle?"

He went silent. She was right, the man he had attacked had been much weaker than him. Thinking about it, Zoro couldn't even remember what he'd looked like. He got up slowly, meditating on what she had said. There was no reason to get involved with that guy, Nami probably could've taken him down on her own. But he had been so mad, and now he couldn't even figure out  _why_. He rubbed his hands over his face. He felt like an idiot. She sighed and put her hand briefly on his shoulder.

"Come on, let's go home."

He nodded, not feeling much like talking.

"And Zoro?"

He couldn't bring himself to make eye contact with her but he glanced in her direction, acknowledging the question.

* * *

"We'll have to take a raincheck on the contest." She smiled at him and he felt the corners of his lips twitch into a half smile.

The next day they walked into town side by side. No rope, no pulling, though Nami was a lot more cautious about him losing the path now that he wasn't on a leash.

"You're being a lot more agreeable today," she said, trying not to sound as smug as she felt.

Zoro shrugged, "Well, you attract so many perverts, and if something happened to you Luffy would…I don't know…punch my face in probably."

She smiled. "Sure."

 


	6. Chapter 6

It was another beautiful day. Nami thought it was fitting that their last day spent on this island would mirror their first. The crew had restocked early and had been ready to go yesterday, but as the navigator, Nami exercised her decision to keep them here for a little longer. She hopped down the ladder and leaned against the ship. She had the map in one hand and her purse in the other. There was something in town she wanted to get before they left.  

As her heels clicked against the now familiar dirt road, she smiled. It had taken a lot to get used this town. Soon after she had received the enchanted map, she’d learned that the residents couldn’t give adequate directions to save their lives. Eventually, though, she had figured out the twisting and changing paths on her own and became relatively savvy at navigating them. Her thoughts came to a stop as she neared the shop she had been looking for.

She had found it during one of her solitary expeditions, one of her many attempts to figure out how the island worked. It was the closest thing the town had to a gift shop for tourists. That being said it was still unusual. A bell chimed as she opened the door and the shopkeeper looked up from his newspaper. Ornaments hung decoratively from the ceiling and little trinkets and souvenirs lined the shelves.  She gave him a smile and he gave a quiet nod before returning to his pages.

“Anything in particular you’re lookin’ for?” The man said, still reading.

She nodded and pointed to a postcard on display at the counter.

“I want that picture.”

He gave her an odd look but removed the card from its place on the counter. He scanned the price tag and handed it to her.

“200 beli.”

“100.”

He rolled his eyes, annoyed but not enough to argue. Since it was just a card he accepted the compromise without a fight (to Nami’s slight disappointment) and rang her up. She shook her head when he asked if she wanted an envelope and gave her yet another strange look at her refusal. She thanked him and left, the little bell ringing at her departure.

On her way back to the Sunny, she paid closer attention to the scenery of the island. It was the last time they’d be here after all, she wanted to commit as much of it to memory as she could. It was such a strange place. When the pathways changed, it seemed as if the season did too. Islands like that in the Grandline weren’t unheard of. Luffy had spent two years training on one, but she got the feeling this was different though. Something about the weather changes felt manmade, artificial.

After a while, Nami realized she was frowning. There wasn’t a reason in the world she should be sad to leave this town, no reason she should want to stay in a place she couldn’t even chart. She looked around her at the very roads that had initially caused her so much trouble. Somewhere where even she could get lost wasn’t a place she would ever want to stay. All that was true, still, she felt just a tiny sliver of sadness when she thought about how soon they would be setting sail.

Part of her also knew why she was upset, though she was reluctant to admit it. Now that they would be departing there was no reason for her to go with Zoro into town, or rather there was no excuse. Sure he’d undoubtedly get lost again but he’d be able to find his way back, just like he’d done for over two years. But, thinking about it, she would really really miss the company. She shook her head, trying to snap out of her brooding. If she needed company Robin would always be there to talk to and Sanji drank as well….

Nami let out a heavy sigh. That wasn’t the point, she could invite the entire crew along drinking and it wouldn’t be the same. She wanted to be around someone she could tease, someone who could handle their alcohol just as well as she could. Plus, she liked the way his face got all red when she made him angry, it made her laugh and that would make him even madder. Once they reached a new island he’d probably want nothing to do with her, and it was understandable considering how hard she tried to aggravate him. She gripped the postcard tightly between her fingers.

Her grasp faltered when she felt something cold fall on her shoulder. She looked up and saw that it was snowing.

“Shit.”

Nami smoothed out the map and found that, sure enough its directions had already changed. Her thoughts must have slowed her down. She stuffed the card back into her pocket and scanned over the map one final time to get her bearings. She let out a heavy sigh and started to backtrack.

By the time Nami reached the ship it was almost dark. The first person to notice her return was Usopp. He yelled and waved at her to climb onboard. She hurried up the rungs and he ran to meet her, pulling her up by the hand.

“What took you so long? you missed dinner by the way.”

She shrugged and adjusted her purse against her shoulder, “I stopped by a shop.”

he crossed his shoulders and nodded, “Well, whatever. I’ll tell Luffy you’re back so we can finally leave.”

He started to move but she pulled him back by the shoulder.

“Wait! ….do you know where Zoro is?”

Usopp gave her a questioning look, “Uh, where he usually is I guess.” he pointed to the crows nest.

“Right, thanks.”

He made another confused face but left without asking questions. Once he was out of sight she took a deep breath and headed towards the crows nest. In less than five minutes she was at the small opening that lead to the room. She paused when she heard the sound of weights being dropped onto the floor, considering whether or not it was a good idea to interrupt his work out. Nami almost fell off the ladder when she heard him call her name.

“Nami, if you want something hurry up and say it.”

 

* * *

He could sense her the moment she climbed up the hatch, it was as if her very presence disrupted the room. Zoro waited for her to come bursting in, asking for some unbelievable task. He became suspicious when he heard her stop. Zoro tried to ignore it and continued his warm up but his focus was already ruined.

“Nami, if you want something hurry up and say it.”

He watched as she pushed herself up out of the hatch. He grabbed a towel off the bar and sat down. She walked over to him and leaned against the wall, deciding that she was more comfortable standing. He looked up at her, the cloth resting limply over his head. She looked away and dug into her pocket, taking out a picture

“I….uh….got this for you.” She handed him a postcard.

Zoro stared at it, puzzled. In his hand was a cartoon drawing of a tiger sleeping on the ground and a small cat pawing at it relentlessly. He squinted at it, trying to decipher what it could mean. He quickly gave up and looked at Nami for an answer.

“What’s this supposed to be?” he asked bluntly.

Nami sighed and sat down next to him, “You know, um, it’s us!” She pointed to the card with a nervous smile, “It’s you and me, you’re the tiger and I’m the….cat….”

Her eyes widened as if she was just realizing how stupid that sounded. He narrowed his eyes, wary of the idea that she would ever get him something without ulterior motives. She caught his gaze for a moment before averting her eyes.

“Actually nevermind it doesn’t look like us at all, haha!”

She wrung her hands together and let out a fake laugh.

“It was a dumb thing to give you, I’ll take it back.”

She reached out to grab the postcard but he turned away before she could touch it.

“No. I like it, I’ll keep it.”

She stared at him shocked and he mirrored her expression. He should just let her have the card. He didn’t even like it, why did he say that? He needed to give it back.

“Thanks, it’s cute.”

‘Cute?’

“Cute?.” Her embarrassment over the gift momentarily disappeared, “Did you just call something cute?”

He got up, flustered, and hung up his towel. He picked up a weight and without looking at her said, “Thanks for the card, was that it?”

She smiled a little and got up as well.

“Yeah,” Nami started her descent back to the deck, “I’m glad you you think it’s cute.” she said in a mocking tone, almost making him drop his dumbbell.

Zoro continued to stare at the wall, lifting the weight up and down until he was sure she was gone. He put the piece of equipment carefully on the ground and took out the card. It was such a stupid gift, probably something she just found on the ground, and he doubted she had spent any real money on it. It was stupid but he couldn’t help the but feel a little happy when he looked at it. He could taste sweat as a grin spread across his face and felt a rush rise up from his stomach to his chest.

“Hah!”

He couldn’t help the giddy laughter that spilled from him while he looked at the card. It was cute.

 

* * *

It was late when she woke up the next day. Past lunch. Nami just couldn’t bring herself to leave the bed, her body felt heavy and her mind felt clouded. It had been a week since they had left the magic island and according to her calculations they would be reaching their new destination today. And she would have to drink. Alone.

She ran a brush through her hair but ended up just making it look frizzy. Giving up on her appearance, she pushed through her door and to the head of the ship. She’d been asleep so long it was a miracle they hadn’t capsized.

Luffy was sitting on the Sunny’s massive head when she approached him.

“Nami!,” he shouted with a grin, “You look terrible did you just wake up? Man….”

She glared at him with bags under her eyes, tempted to push him off into the water.

“Have we stayed on course?” She asked, ignoring his comment.

Luffys’ smiled widened, “Yep! And I can see the island.” He gestured excitedly to the land mass in front of them

Nami frowned, she had slept way too long. They had almost arrived and would be able to drop anchor in a matter of minutes. She rubbed the dark circles around her eyes and left her captain to his…..whatever he was doing. She went inside the aquarium bar and sat down.

With her head flat on the table, she didn’t notice Usopp until she felt him sit down next to her.

“What?” she mumbled into her arms.

He shrugged, “I wanna sit here, is that a problem?”

“Yeah, go away.”

He puffed up his cheeks but didn’t say anything. She burrowed her face further into her arms trying to will him away with her mind.

“ ….Are you ok?”

Her head snapped up from the table, “Please leave.”

The abruptness in her voice momentarily shocked him. Resigned to leave her alone, he got up from the booth. Before he left he put a hand on her shoulder. She felt bad for snapping at him but was too exhausted to apologise. Nami felt her eyelids droop, it seemed like all she wanted to do was sleep the day away. She let her eyes close, succumbing to the heavy feeling in her head.

She didn’t wake up until she heard the heavy sound of boots walking across the deck. ‘Zoro’s going out, it must be close to sunset’, she thought, still hazy from sleep. ‘Must be relieved to go alone.’ Her head fell to the table again, as she drifted back into slumber.

“Hey.”

Her rest was interrupted when someone roughly flicked the side of her ear.

“Do you want to die?” She glared, expecting to see Usopp but softened when she realized who had woken her up. “Zoro?....what do you want.”

“Aren’t you coming?”

He tried to sound irritable but couldn’t stop the slight blush that crept across his face. Nami stared blankly at him for a moment before breaking into a grin. Responding immediately, afraid that he might rescind his invitation

“I’ll get my purse.”

 

* * *

 

 

“Excuse me, do any of you know where miss Nami is?” Brook looked around the group, “I was hoping she would-”

“She’s not here, Brook. She went out drinking with Zoro.” Robin cut him off.

Sanji chewed on his cigarette, “This sucks. They’ve been there every night! Every time we stop at a new island, Captain forehead steals my beautiful Nami and takes advantage of her good nature.”

“Sanji….I really don’t think that’s-” Usopp tried to reason.

“Ooh, Nami….Can’t you see that he’s only using you to pay for sake?”

“Sanji, I…..well, actually….”

The cook threw himself on the ground and started pounding his fist into the dirt. The rest of the crew ignored his antics, numb to them after two years. Robin stretched out on her pool chair, content to let things progress as they normally did, it was just a few nights at the bar after all.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this took so long :(


	7. Part 1: She was manipulative

Carnation Island was filled with many wonderful things. Bright flowers lining the meticulously crafted walkways, plenty of food, water, hospitality and an amazing view of the glowing night lights that you could see shining from the Sunny. Most of all though, they had a great bar.

Just like every day, Nami nudged his resting body with her foot and he opened his eyes with a yawn. Grumbling a little about being prodded awake, Zoro followed her like clockwork to the small cabin-like establishment that had the words  _'Diner'_ painted over the walkway.

When they went inside Nami noticed that it was a lot… prettier than the ones they were used to; the soft lighting and jolly music made it almost seem like a respectable establishment. However, the cheap wooden stools and slobbering drunkards quickly dispelled that illusion.

The barkeep gave them a once over, leering at Nami a little longer than he should have.

"What can I getcha for?" he asked gruffly, and began offering them a plethora of flower based drinks.

Zoro's eyes spun. It figured that an island named after a plant would base its attractions on that detail, but all these complicated beverages and unfamiliar names were making his eyes glaze over.

"…Just a beer," he said while avoiding eye contact, afraid that if he looked at the guy he would start rattling off the names of even more libations.

Nami scoffed and rolled her eyes. Smiling, she said, " _I'll_  have the…sunflower beach?" She raised an eyebrow questioningly. "What does that even mean? Sunflowers don't grow on beaches."

"Don't they?" the bartender said mysteriously.

"No," they both replied in unison.

"…You're right, they don't. It's not easy coming up with all these labels."

Zoro rolled his eyes, but to his surprise he heard Nami giggle. The bartender slid him his simple drink and moved onto her more complicated one. After a flurry of pouring and shaking he set a small pinkish glass on the counter then slid a slice of lemon on the rim. Zoro felt a smile tug at the corners of his mouth as he watched her down the gaudy liquid enthusiastically. Drinking was always the most fun with Nami (at least it was when they finally stopped making it a brutal competition). Luffy and Usopp usually passed out after 10 minutes and he and Sanji almost killed each other because of fighting whilst intoxicated. But with Nami, at least when they were drunk, they were the same. Not only that but they were both very,  _very_ happy drunks.

"Zoro! You should try one of these. They're really good!" She slammed the glass down on the counter and immediately demanded another.

He shook his head. "I don't drink for the taste"

"Bull _shit_!" she said, still grinning. "If it gets the job done and tastes good then like…two birds one stone!"

He shrugged noncommittally. "Calm down woman, you're shouting."

Her cheeks flushed a little from embarrassment. She crossed her arms defensively and huffed.

"Whatever. I'm just in a good mood…" Her lips crooked upward mischievously. "Hey Zoro…want to make a little bet?"

At that he dropped his apathetic demeanor and grinned. Zoro loved betting with Nami, mainly because though betting with Nami was still risky, there was just as good a chance of him winning as there was of him losing. He watched her tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear then rest her chin on her palm.

"We drink as many of these as we can," she said, gesturing to the pink concoction. "And whoever can hold their liquor the longest wins."

"Ok, and what happens if we lose?"

She smirked.

"If I lose, I'll pay every time we drink and never pester you to try anything besides your bland, tasteless alcohol again. If you lose,  _you_  have to pay and…you have to offer to help Sanji cook breakfast every morning for a month."

"He won't even let me near the kitchen, how am I supposed to pull that off?"

"Wow, you're already so resigned to losing. I guess that's understandable, but-"

Zoro snatched Nami's drink out of her hand and immediately sucked it down. He was annoyed at how easily she had baited him into accepting her challenge, but that didn't matter in the long run. What mattered was that he won, and this time he would. He felt it.

What really ended up happening though, was they both ran out of money around their 13th round and the barkeep consequently cut them off.

Nami almost had to jump on his back to keep Zoro from fighting the entire bar once they had been refused service. In the end she somehow managed to drag him out the door.

Nami sighed, running a hand through her hair. "I guess we'll have to take a rain check on our bet." She turned to look at him, only to be met with an empty space.

"Zoro?!" she spun her head from one side to the other (a bad idea since she was actually a pretty tipsy). When she steadied herself she found a tuft of green hair wandering toward the forest.

' _Idiot',_ she thought, running towards him. Nami briefly wondered how he and Luffy had survived those few weeks before she joined the crew. Finally catching up to him, she grabbed him by his shirt collar and tugged him in the right direction.

"One day you are going to walk straight into a horrible, giant monster's mouth thinking it's the Sunny! Never mind having a bad sense of direction, what made you think you'd find our ship in the middle of the woods?!" She hit on the back of his head.

"Ow! Dammit Nami!" He rubbed his neck. "What the hell did you do that for?"

" 'Cus you're a moron. Come on."

She took his wrist in her hand and pulled him along. Unfortunately, her and Zoro's balance had both been affected by liquor and in less than a minute they were tripping over their own feet. Nami literally fell on her ass and Zoro just face planted. Spitting out dirt, he mumbled something about those drinks being stronger than he'd thought.

He picked himself up first and, offering her his hand said, "Here, I have an idea."

He yanked her up from the ground and put her arm around his shoulder, settling his own on her waist. It worked, what they were unable to accomplish separately they succeeded at together: walking. And after a few drunken stumbles they started on their way home.

By the time five minutes had passed, the  _'Sunflower Beaches'_  were starting to kick in. Suddenly the situation seemed hilarious to Zoro. He snorted- where were they? If Nami had gotten them lost he would never let her forget it.

"Heh...Hehehe...Hahaha!"

Nami turned to look at him, surprised by the sudden outburst.

"What? What's so funny?"

He stifled his laughter and stared at her. Quietly serious and completely genuine he said, "I forgot."

She stared back, wide eyed, looking at his sincere and endearingly confused expression.

"Pffffft!" Nami tried to hold back her laughter by covering her mouth with her hand, but it was no use. She doubled over, holding on to her stomach for dear life. It took only a second for Zoro's befuddlement to disappear and he joined in her outburst. They continued down the beaten fast convulsing with obnoxious laughter in a town that had long been asleep.

Between the sudden bursts of cackling, they started talking about their pasts and scenarios they had encountered before joining the straw-hats.

"So I have this guy tied up, rolling around in the sand, with all of his treasure loaded onto my tiny little sailboat. And he's screaming, like  _shrieking_  at me, calling me a bitch and a 'no good tramp.' And I'm like 'Yeah ok buddy whatever makes you feel better,' and I turn to look at him and I swear to god… the man has a  _huge_ erection."

Zoro was practically wheezing, tears pooling in his eyes. Nami stopped laughing at her own story and took a moment to watch him. It was weird to see him so visibly happy; she could appreciate the rarity of this situation even through her boozy haze. Noticing that she was no longer giggling with him, Zoro stopped and faced her questioningly. She was smiling pleasantly at him, her hazy brown eyes scrunched up in amusement. They were so preoccupied with looking at each other that they didn't notice they had walked all the way into the ocean until they felt the icy water coil around their ankles.

"EEEK," Nami cried and ran back to land. He squinted at his wet pant legs and soaked boats then trudged back to where his crew-mate had retreated.

When he found her she was leaning against the ship. By some chance they had found their way back home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> finally caught up to where i want to be ohmygod (two months later) thanks for reading! next chapter will be up soon :)


	8. Chapter 8

They climbed back aboard the Sunny and tumbled over the railing. Zoro glanced around, unable to find the rest of the crew. Were they all asleep? How late was it? They couldn't have been gone for that long. He watched as Nami peeked her head inside of the kitchen, trying to get a look at the time. He heard her groan.

"It's 3:00 a.m."

Wow. He looked up at the starry sky, shocked to think that the sun would be rising in a few short hours. It wasn't that big of a deal for him since he usually took night watch anyway, but he doubted that their navigator stayed up past midnight.

"We should probably go to bed then."

He shrugged. So she'd have one tired day tomorrow. So what? It'd be kind of funny seeing the ever so energetic Nami snoring over her breakfast.

He started walking towards his cabin but something stopped him. He turned to look behind him and saw her just… standing there, doing nothing. She rubbed the back of her neck absently and crossed her arms.

"I'm not tired," she pouted, as if she would much rather be in bed and was angry that she couldn't be.

"What?"

"I'm not tired at all!" She was clearly just as drunk as she had been when they left the bar- the pink tinge to her cheeks served as evidence.

"Ok…what do you want me to do about it." Unlike her, Zoro actually wanted to sleep.

She furrowed her brow, pondering his mildly rude question. She stayed like that for awhile then, struck by an idea, a bright smile lit up her face. She twirled around and giggled drunkenly.

"Let's dance!"

All he could do was stare at her with his mouth wide open. This was beyond inebriation, she was possessed. This was terrible. How was he going to break the news to the rest of his friends that their treasured companion had been taken by forces beyond his comprehension. He didn't know who this woman in front of him was but he was certain that he had never  _ever_ seen Nami giggle good naturedly around him.

"Zoro...?" She tapped his shoulder and he jumped. When had she moved so close? "You spaced out. Did you hear me? I wanna dance, let's dance!"

"No!"

She wilted a little. He sighed; that had come out harsher than he meant it.

"I mean... I just want to go to sleep."

Nami didn't say anything, instead she decided to glare at him.

"I don't even know how to! I'm a swordsman you know…I… uh swing swords." Why did he say that. That had to have been the stupidest thing to ever come out of his mouth.

She rolled her eyes. "Come on!" Her glare quickly faded and she grinned up at him again. "Come on come on come on come on  _come on_!"

"NO!" He was starting to get annoyed. "Ask someone else, like Chopper or the love cook!" He said the last part unintentionally bitter.

There was no noise. He waited for her to yell at him or stomp off to her room petulantly, but she stayed where she was. They stared at each other for a long time, him glaring and her expressionless. He knew that she wouldn't move until she got what she wanted. He felt his glare wavering. Angrily, he slammed his fist against the railing.

"…Fine!"

She beamed triumphantly, grabbing his hands and pulling him towards her. She positioned his hands on her waist then put hers on his shoulders. He made a 'hmph' sound, intent on making his reluctance apparent. Unfortunately for him Nami couldn't have cared less.

"…So what do I do?"

She snorted. He really didn't know how to dance.

"Just sway, like this." She started rocking from side to side.

Zoro felt his ears burning- this was not what he signed up for. Risking your life every day for the sake of the people you love was one thing, but being forced to dance with them was another. Keeping a firm eye on his feet, he copied Nami's movement until they were both in rhythm with each other. Once he had gotten the hang of swaying, she decided it was time to step it up a little. She stepped forward expecting him to step back, however, he was concentrating so hard on the simple back and forth movements that her sudden change caught him off guard and he stumbled onto her toes.

"Agh!" She bit her tongue to stop the shriek that she was holding in.

"I-I'm sorry! Ah...shit!"

Once the initial pain dulled she smiled reassuringly, "It's fine." Then, jokingly she added, "I should have known an idiot like you wouldn't be able to handle swaying  _and_  moving."

She repositioned his hands so they were on her shoulders and placed hers on his waist.

"Watch my feet, I'm gonna lead."

If it hadn't been so dark Zoro was sure his face would have looked bright red. Without looking her directly in the face, he nodded. As her foot moved forward, his moved back and so on and so forth. They repeated this process until they were gliding (clumsily) around the deck. He didn't look at her, afraid that if he took his eyes away from his feet disaster was sure to befall them, but he heard her laugh and couldn't help but chuckle as well. This was actually a little fun.

Suddenly she removed his hands from her shoulder and clasped them in hers, closing the distance between them and pressing her cheek to his. He stiffened immediately, they were never this close unless one of them (Nami) was in some sort of danger. Before he could protest she pulled away so that only one of their hands were connected. She grinned.

"Zoro, Spin me!"

He thought it sounded a little too much like a demand, but complied. "How?"

"Lift your arm up."

He did what he was told and watched as the light yellow dress she was wearing twisted and pooled around her. Her smile got even bigger as she did it again, this time pulling him with her. They whirled around in circles, the cool night air blowing pieces of her hair into her face. Their pace quickened and she weaved them across the ship, onto the cool grass, around the tree and back again. She let go of him and spun a few times on her own until stopping.

He couldn't help but begrudgingly smile back at her when the dance was over. She looked breathless, he could see her chest rising and falling rapidly as she breathed. Nami seemed more different now than she usually did but… at the same time she was the same. Realizing that he was staring, Zoro scratched the back of his head a little self-consciously and cleared his throat.

"Satisfied now?"

Nami rolled her eyes at his surly tone but kept her happy expression. It hadn't taken him long to snap back into his usual stoicism.

"Don't act like you didn't have fun dancing with a beautiful girl on a full moon."

He narrowed his eyes at her, then, a little irritably, he sauntered off to his bed. Before he went inside, he threw his head back at her and said, "The moons not even full tonight," and slammed the door shut.

When he got to his room he collapsed on the bed. He was already starting to feel the after effects of the liquor and he rubbed his temples in an effort to mollify them. His chest was unusually tight and he hoped that it wasn't a sign that he was about to puke. Weirdly enough, He started thinking about Nami's dress. Were all of her outfits that nice? He didn't  _remember_  any of them being that nice. It was hard to think though, he'd have to mull it over tomorrow.

' _She can be pretty when she wants to be'_ he thought absently.

"...Huh?"

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you liked it!

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! Jamfish here, this is my first fic with zonami so i hope you enjoy it! I'll try to update weekly and all reviews, i mean ALL review are appreciated and if you have any ideas then im always open


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